The only thing in the way of an essential Wall Street merger is the agreement and signature of the company’s CEO, but the trouble is he has upped and taken himself off to a mysterious Swiss Wellness Center from which he is refusing to leave. The frustrated Board of Directors who desperately need the deal to go through to cover up some of their dubious business practices, instruct Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) an overly ambitious young executive to go to Switzerland and bring him back.
When Lockhart reaches the Spa/Clinic in a remote part of the Swiss Alps he is very insistent about seeing the CEO but regardless he is still refused immediate access and told to come back in the evening. However on the way down the mountain again to the nearby town, his car is involved in a near fatal accident, and the next thing Lockhart knows he is waking up in Wellness Center three days later missing a leg. Volmer (an excellent Jason Isaacs) the rather smarmy Clinic Director says he will do everything to facilitate Lockhart meeting up with the illusive CEO, but in fact he just keeps stalling, leaving the young man stranded just to wander around the premises and grounds to mark time.
Already wary of all the staff’s obstructive habits, Lockhart starts to suspect that this is no ordinary Spa and the miraculous treatments are hardly cures at all when he discovers that no-one ever leaves. His suspicions gradually build until he eventually discovers they are all part of some dastardly experiments that have been going on in some shape or form for the past two hundred years. The more he unravels, the more his own sanity is tested as he slowly realizes that he is now suffering from the same illness that has kept all the others virtual prisoners for years.
This intriguing new psychological thriller from Gore Verbinski (known mainly for the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) keeps the suspense level high, interspersed with some outrageously scary and violent episodes right up to the bitter end. Even when it’s twisted plot drags a little (the movie is way too long at 2 hrs 26 mins) the some stunning cinematography (Bojan Bazelli) still make the movie a real visual treat.
Baby faced De Haan who became a actor to watch closely after his remarkable breakthrough performance in Kill Your Darlings, holds the central focus really well, and is pitch perfect as the conflicted and frustrated Lockhart.
A Cure for Wellness reunites Verbinski with screenwriter Justin Haythe with whom he made the ill-fated The Lone Ranger that actually got nominated for four Razzie Awards. All a far cry from this, when they show that they are really back on form again.
